Unmovable Forces
by FeralShadowwolf
Summary: Continued from 'Unending'. An Asguard clone helps Sam to understand the new upgrades, and alerts them to an impending Ori invasion. As an interplanetary Rebellion is formed, and General O'Neill's return, can they finally defeat the Ori and Adria? JS DV.
1. Arrivals

**Set one week after 'Unending'. Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

As Vala Mal Doran wondered aimlessly along one of the corridors in the SGC base, she found herself strolling through to Daniel Jackson's vacant office, her SG1 team member as of recent, and possibly her closest acquaintance within Stargate Command.

She collapsed onto his chair, feeling welcome to rest her feet on his desk, despite the fact that she knew it would annoy him, and as she always enjoyed getting a rise out of him, it didn't bother her. She flicked through some of the files on his desk completely mindlessly before opening his file cabinet and sifting through classified material, the thrill of doing something she wasn't supposed to had long gone, but her wanton disregard for authority compelled Vala to do it anyway.

Daniel walked through the door reading the military classified papers in his hand, but looked up to see Vala going through what she wasn't meant to see. "Vala, get out of there." He said impatiently, closing the drawer without consideration for her fingers. He breezed past her and sat in his chair, continuing to examine the papers.

As a woman fond of attention, Vala found Daniel's ignorance of her irritating. She jumped up on his desk, swinging her feet childishly. "I'm bored."

"What's new?" Daniel murmured rhetorically, not paying Vala the attention she so desperately wanted. Vala stroked Daniel's ear with her finger, hoping to distract him long enough that he'd agree to do what she was thinking, though he'd refused so many times before. "Vala." He grabbed her hand and gave her a hard stare. "Isn't there someone else you could annoy?"

"Teal'c got boring." Vala pouted, showing no offence at Daniel's remark. "He's being so uptight about what happened to us on the _Odyssey_."

Daniel sighed, pausing from his work to look up at his impatient, childish, yet undeniably beautiful teammate. "Vala, ever think maybe it's better if we don't know?"

"Please," She retorted. "You're telling me you don't want to know what happened between…" She averted her eyes, her slight pause unnoticeable to Daniel. "Everyone over a period of 50 years?" He kept his eyes on his work and kept silent, though she waited for a response. "You want to know as much as I do." She scoffed.

"Well, Teal'c has made it clear that he's not going to tell us, so I suggest you drop it." Daniel advised, but knew only too well that Vala was not likely to give up on this easily. She stayed silent; Daniel aggravated furthermore when she pretended to consider his advise before disregarding it completely. "Vala, why don't you go and find something useful to do?"

"Come on Daniel, I should think you know me better than that." She smiled flirtatiously. "Besides, they already kicked me out of the Control Room."

Daniel laughed, unsurprised. "Of course they did." She shot him a warning look. "Look, Vala, I'm really busy right now, so if you could…" He motioned for the door.

She sighed and jumped on his desk. "Fine. What are you doing anyway?"

"I'm going over some of the symbols Teal'c described, I'm hoping they might speed up learning about the time dilation field should we ever be in the same situation as before, no matter how unlikely." Daniel explained.

"Wouldn't Teal'c have remembered all that?" Vala pointed out.

"This is a back up in case Teal'c's memory should…" Daniel searched for the right word, silenced as Teal'c entered his office.

"My memory will not fail me." Teal'c stated.

Daniel half-smiled. "I wasn't going to suggest failure, just… mild clouding."

Teal'c raised his eyebrow questioningly. Daniel still couldn't get over how Teal'c, who still looked the same as ever despite the grey streaks in his hair, could be fifty years older than the rest of them. "Daniel Jackson, I came here to speak with you." He was met by expectant stares from both Daniel and Vala; Teal'c stared at Vala and added, "Alone."

Vala rolled her eyes, but agreed. "Alright, I'm going." Once she'd left the room, Teal'c ascertained her leaving before stepping before Daniel's desk.

"What's on your mind, Teal'c?" Daniel asked, happy to give his full attention to his friend.

"I wish to know how to prevent Vala from asking such questions about the future which I cannot answer." Teal'c admitted, Vala too much to handle even for him.

Daniel laughed. "You came to me? Teal'c, if I knew how to stop Vala from being… well, Vala, I would have done it a long time ago." He half-joked.

"If no one else, she seems to listen to you." Teal'c said, though Daniel had no idea why.

"Teal'c, she never listens to me." Daniel pointed out; by the look on his face, which no one but a close friend could detect anyway, he could see there was something in his last statement that was beneath the surface. "Unless… you know something I don't?"

"Of that, I cannot say." Teal'c replied neutrally, aware Daniel's curiously was as strong as the others, but his was more confined.

Daniel nodded his head. "Of course. Look, Teal'c," He rose from his chair and gave him the best advise he possibly could. "Eventually Vala will get bored asked, until then, just ignore her. Seems to work."

Teal'c slowly nodded gratefully, though Daniel Jackson's advise was not as helpful as he'd hoped for. "I will take your advise into account."

"Was that it?" Daniel asked, happy to be in Teal'c's company though his work was pressing.

"Yes, I –" Teal'c response was cut short by a voice blaring through the base, 'Unscheduled Off-World Activation'.

Daniel and Teal'c looked to one another before rushing to the Control Room, where they met Colonel Mitchell, Vala and Sam, who had taken over the computer.

"It's the Asguard IBM." Sam revealed, completely surprised, as were her teammates, having believed all the Asguard to be dead. She tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and the Iris automatically opened, the precaution of armed guards surrounding the gate.

SG1, the occupants of the Control Room and the armed guards surrounding the gate waited expectantly for a figure to appear through the sea of glistening blue gel, unsure of what to expect.

Suddenly, a small alien appeared as the Stargate shut down behind it: it was one of the Asguard. He looked up to the Control Room to see their faces. "Samantha Carter, greetings."

"Identify yourself." Carter commanded, hearing Thor's voice but deeming it impossible, as they all knew he had died.

"I am a clone of the Asguard, of Thor." It replied. SG1 exchanged skeptical and disbelieving looks with one another, not sure what to believe, but knew they had to, at least for the moment, take this at face value.

Within moments, the SG1 team all suspiciously greeted the alleged Asguard clone, Colonel Mitchell ordering two of the armed soldiers to guard their visitor as they escorted him to the Briefing Room.

For a half hour, they'd interrogated the Asguard clone, finally ascertaining his story to be the truth, and had moved onto how and why he was here.

"What… how are you alive?" Mitchell asked the obvious question.

"I was created for emergency use in case the Asguard gene degradation solution should fail. I was placed on a separate world in case I should be needed." The clone explained.

"But if you're a clone of Thor, you would have the gene degradation problem as well." Sam worked out.

"My DNA was tampered with before production and although I possess the illness, it has been temporarily neutralized." Thor explained.

"How temporary?" Daniel asked.

"It shall take effect in 48 hours." Thor answered, his tone holding no sadness or emotion at the thought of his death.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Mitchell offered, the thought of such a powerful species dying out was hard for him to cope with.

Sam looked at him regretfully. "Asguard technology is so far beyond our own, I barely understand what we've been given so far, so if they couldn't find a cure…"

"It is all right, Samantha Carter, I did not come here for medical reasons." Thor relieved her, all sets of eyes fixed on him.

"So, you're not here to have us help you repopulate your world?" Mitchell asked, suddenly confused.

"My world is beyond help." Thor stated. "I have come here because as the new possessors of the Asguard technology, it is my job to instruct you exactly how to use it. My race knew you would need help which their illness prevented them from giving to you."

Daniel looked to his teammates. "So you're saying that you're here, the reason you were created was to make sure that we handle your technology correctly?"

"Indeed." Thor confirmed.

Mitchell looked to Teal'c, Daniel and Sam skeptically. "Seems like a lot of effort just so we don't break anything."

"Colonel Mitchell, as the fifth race, you have a duty to protect the galaxy now. It is crucial that this technology is protected and used wisely." Thor instructed.

"What do you mean _now_? Protected from whom?" Teal'c finally talked, seemingly quiet up to this point as well as Vala, though most assumed that was just out of boredom.

"There is a threat most dangerous heading for this planet who know of the Asguard's technology being passed to you." Thor revealed. "The Ori are coming for this technology, and they will not rest until it is in their hands, even if it means destroying this world to get it." Mitchell, Daniel, Teal'c, Sam and Vala all traded worried glances. "The Orici, Adria, has already destroyed hundreds of worlds to gather forces and technology. I fear this planet is next."


	2. Upgrades and Let Downs

**Just for ease of mind – there are no spoilers here. Sadly, I live in Britain and will probably see the Stargate movies long after you guys in the USA, so this is all complete fiction.  
Hope that puts minds at ease xx**

* * *

Two hours passed slowly as Mitchell, Daniel and Sam had been with the Thor clone discussing the new Asguard technology and the oncoming Ori threat. Teal'c stood idly by, observing their progress.

"Thor, if the Ori will come in 14 days, we need to know _exactly_ what this technology can do." Sam pointed out. "We already know about the time dilation field, but we need to connect the technology to our computers to figure out the rest."

"I do not think it wise. Your primitive computers could overload at the input of our equipment." Thor warned.

"On board the _Odyssey_, the computers handled the Asguard technology very well." Teal'c reasoned, breaking his silence.

"And General Landry has given us the go ahead." Sam nodded, hoping to convince Thor, then turning to face the rest of her team. "And he says he'll be back from Washington as soon as possible."

"Thor, from what I've heard here, I would say there's a bigger risk if we don't input the technology now." Daniel advised, hoping Thor would agree.

As it turned out, there had been some debate over whether all of the Asguard's knowledge and power should be given at all, not just to the Tau'ri. The Thor clone still seemed wary of the result, as apparently the Asguard saw humans as erratic at best.

After considering for a few moments, he said, "I agree."

"Great." Sam beamed. "Any advantage we have over the Ori would be invaluable."

"Samantha Carter, you should know that we were unsure whether our resources, although great, could in fact defeat the Ori." Thor admitted. "It is said that the Ori hold a weapon greater than anything we know, which could destroy not just this planet, but this galaxy."

Daniel felt worried at the mere thought, "Where is it?"

"That is unknown to us." Thor admitted, the SG1 team members all looking worried.

Sam looked to Daniel, Teal'c and Mitchell, then back to Thor. "Wait a minute, are you saying that your technology has _nothing_ to combat the Ori?"

"We had not developed a weapon to disable their systems, though much was tried." Thor replied. "I am sorry."

"Well, that sucks." Mitchell commented.

"Let me get this straight: The Ori are coming in less than 2 weeks to destroy this world and possibly every other in the galaxy, and we have nothing to stop them?" Daniel summed up and Thor remained silent. "Oh, we're in trouble."

"I think the first step is that we need to connect everything and figure out what we've got." Sam suggested, taking a deep breath at the seriousness of the situation. If they couldn't figure out a way to at least damage the Ori's massive forces, their solar system could be gone by the end of the month. "We'll go on from there."

"Indeed." Teal'c agreed. "Meanwhile, under the circumstances, I think it best we should build up defenses. I will send word to neighboring planets to join the fight. No doubt they are as involved in this as we are, if their planets also are in danger."

"That's a good idea, Teal'c. Do it." Mitchell nodded. "I called General O'Neill and told him what's going on."

"Please remember that I am only with you for another 46 hours," Thor reminded them. "Any help I can give you will not be wasted." Sam nodded sympathetically and gratefully.

"Sam, if you're ok here with Thor, I think I'll look over the Ori tablet we found off-world and see if there's anything in there that could help us." Daniel suggested. "I'm still having some trouble deciphering."

"That's fine." Sam nodded. She took a moment to look at Mitchell, Daniel, Teal'c and Thor before returning her eyes to Daniel. "Where's Vala?"

Daniel sighed. "Probably off playing hopscotch somewhere on the base."

Before Sam could comment, the door opened and a familiar face appeared through it. "Hey guys."

"Sir? What are you doing here?" Sam asked General O'Neill, his presence completely unexpected.

"Nice to see you too, Carter." Jack half-smiled. He nodded to Teal'c, Daniel and Mitchell.

"Good to see you again, O'Neill." Teal'c greeted as warmly as ever.

"Hey Jack." Daniel nodded.

"Sir." Mitchell rose from his chair, though sat down at Jack's gesture.

"I figured you could use my help, what with General Landry in Washington and all." Jack answered Sam's question. "When the world's in peril, I'm your guy." He was met by blank faces, and so turned to Thor. "So you're the clone?"

"I am." Thor responded.

A few seconds of silence went by because of Jack's ineptitude at what to say. "Good." He nodded. "So, what are we doing?"

"I'm translating text." Daniel answered.

"I will attempt to assemble an army off-world that will fight with us against the Ori." Teal'c stated, somewhat dramatically in Jack's opinion.

"And Thor and I are going to upload the Asguard's upgrades into our systems, hopefully giving us at least a better chance against the Ori." Sam said almost pessimistically. "Thor's going to teach me how to use everything."

"Good." Jack nodded and turned to Colonel Mitchell. "And what about you?"

He shrugged. "I guess I'm running the base 'til General Landry gets back."

"Not anymore. You better go with Teal'c. I'll stay here and keep things running smoothly." Jack ordered.

"Yes sir." Mitchell nodded and turning to Teal'c. "That alright?"

"Indeed." Teal'c agreed. "Your assistance would be much appreciated."

"Carter, I'll be in General Landry's office if I'm needed." Jack informed her as he left.

"Yes sir." Carter obeyed, secretly happy to have General O'Neill back, if only temporarily, on the team.

"Teal'c, let's go. The less time wasted, the better." Mitchell said, and Teal'c nodded and followed him out.

"I'll go find Vala." Daniel said, standing up. "Try and get her to do something useful."

"If anyone, she'll listen to you." Sam nodded positively.

Daniel sighed in frustration. "Why does everyone assume she listens to me?"

Sam shrugged apologetically as he left the Briefing Room, faintly hearing Sam and Thor discuss the new weaponry as he headed for his office.

On the way there, he passed Vala's living quarters and backed up, knocking on the door in thinking she may be in there. There was no response and was just about to leave when he head sniffling coming from inside.

"Vala?" He knocked again. "You in there?" Still no response, though he could still hear her inside. "I'm coming in."

He opened the door and was met by the darkness of the room; without windows and without the lights turned on, he could only just make out Vala sitting up against the wall on the floor, tissue in hand and tears falling down her face.

Daniel instantly sat beside her, his face falling soft. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine." She dried her eyes, smiling unconvincingly. "I'm sure you've got more important things to do, and I'll be right out anyway –"

"Vala." Daniel quieted her, a sympathetic look on his face.

She smiled, grateful he was willing to listen to her. "It's just… me… and Adria. All of those planets she destroyed, all those lives lost… and it's my fault."

"Vala, this is not your fault. Adria was never really your daughter, you know that." Daniel comforted her.

"But I knew… I always knew that she was meant to lead the Ori. I knew exactly what she would become and I did nothing." Vala sniffled. "I could have stopped her before any of this. And now she's coming here, coming to kill every one of us."

"Vala, we won't let that happen." Daniel promised her. "And no one blames you for this. No one expected you to kill your child."

"You said it yourself, she was never my child." Vala said bitterly. "I should have been strong enough… but I couldn't." She looked at him, her watered eyes so full of desperation and sadness. "I saw her face, saw my eyes in hers…"

Daniel put his arm around her, offering her his warmth and strength, as he made soothing hushing noises. "She was just an innocent child, my baby." She quivered, taking a deep breath. "And now she's going to conquer the universe."

"You always want your child to have more than you had." Daniel lightly joked, and Vala let out a short laugh. "Vala, we will find a way to stop her, I promise you."

As Daniel held her in his arms, he contemplated that his confident oath lacked credibility, as well Vala knew. They had two weeks to figure out how to defeat a foe, which hundreds of other planets had failed to do; Daniel couldn't help but wonder how they would be any different.


	3. First Ally

**Thanks for the kind reviews, it's fantastic. I know this is a short one, but I'll update asap. Stay tuned :)**

* * *

As Colonel Mitchell and Teal'c geared up, weapons in hand and faced the undialled gate, they were as filled with as much dread as hope for their upcoming mission.

Just as they were about to dial out, the gate activated, the computer automatically saying 'Unscheduled Off-World Activation'.

They watched the blue surface materialize as it burst into the room, the Iris immediately shielding the surface. Mitchell pointed out, "That's happening a little too much lately. Kinda makes me nervous."

"Indeed." Teal'c acknowledged.

"It's a Hak'tyl IBM." Sgt. Walter Hannigan reported from the Control Room. "Opening the Iris."

Mitchell, and especially Teal'c, waited expectantly, awaiting a figure to appear through the gate. Just before the portal closed, a tall blonde warrior woman appeared, smiling at the sight of Teal'c.

"Ishta." He greeted as she descended down the ramp. "What brings you here?"

"It is good to see you." Ishta smiled at Teal'c, and then addressed both men. "We have been told that the Ori are approaching rapidly, their forces are great. We worry for you and this world."

"We are aware of their impending arrival. Colonel Mitchell and I were about to search for others that may help us in the fight against the Ori." Teal'c revealed. "How are Rya'c and Kar'yn?"

"There are well." Ishta answered. "If it is warriors you need, we will gladly help you."

"That is not necessary." Teal'c replied, worried for his son and Ishta.

She looked insulted. "We are as good as any warriors if not better, why should we not fight?"

"I do not doubt your skills." Teal'c reassured her. "But I do not wish you or Rya'c harmed."

"You need all the help you can get against the Ori, they are a powerful foe, perhaps more so than the Ga'ould. Let us help you." Ishta offered, her hard steely gaze told him she would not take no as an answer.

"Come on Teal'c, she has a point." Mitchell interjected, though was silenced by Teal'c hard look.

"Very well." Teal'c reluctantly agreed.

Ishta nodded. "I shall assemble our people. Do you know of the Ori's arrival date?"

"Fourteen earth days." Teal'c answered. "Time is short."

"Agreed. I will remain on our planet until you need us. Contact me." Ishta told him.

"I will." Teal'c promised. "I will update you with our progress."

She nodded, and the gate was dialed for her allowing her home, leaving Teal'c and Mitchell alone again. "Good," Mitchell said. "Haven't even gone off world yet and already we've made an ally. That's a good sign, right?"

"It would appear so." Teal'c replied. "Though don't be fooled. We are still greatly outnumbered."

The gate closed and reopened following another address, "And on that cheerful note, here we go."

Mitchell stepped upon the platform before turning back to Sgt. Hannigan in the Control Room. "Inform General O'Neill that Ishta has aligned herself with our cause."

"Yes sir." He nodded, as he watched the former Ga'ould and newest commander of SG1 walk through the Stargate.


	4. Slow Progress

A day and a half had passed, and everyone, though working incredibly hard, was exhausted and sleep deprived. The Ori threat was real, and it was coming their way.

Colonel Mitchell and Teal'c had made little progress, so far only securing Ishta's help, an army of 3000 at best, and that of a small, quite primitive planet, who feared the Ori threat and had no hopes of stopping them alone. Even then, the resistance was no where near threatening to the Ori, who had fleets of well equipped spaceships with hundreds of thousands of followers.

Vala had been helping Daniel as best she could, offering what little knowledge she'd picked up along her travels and misadventures to possibly put what writings he had into context; perhaps then it would make more sense, though so far the tablet seemed only to indicate Ori rituals and powers, which were useless since they'd already discovered how powerful they were, especially under their new leader, Adria. However, they was a portion near the end of the tablet which Daniel found impossible to decipher, but believed it to be an indicator of something important.

Vala hadn't spoken of Adria since the other day, and now seemed almost unemotional that the aim they were all working towards would bring about the death of her daughter, but Daniel knew, and could see from the look in her eyes as she worked, that she had not forgotten. Daniel couldn't even imagine what this was like for her, but could only comfort her when she needed it.

As for General O'Neill, he had been keeping the base running smoothly, keeping the Earth's impending doom as quiet as possible from the men as to not lose morale. Besides, he believed in Carter's uncanny ability to come up with an answer just in times, just as she had many times before. He watched her as she worked with the Asguard clone: so determined and zealous about her work. Sometimes the General regretted giving up his life on the team of SG-1 to be replaced by Colonel Mitchell. He couldn't deny that Mitchell was well equipped to handle SG-1 life, but he hadn't near enough the experience which he, Carter, Teal'c and Daniel possessed, though he knew that wasn't the real issue.

Finally, Sam and Thor had been working for 36 hours in total, with the Asguard additions now integrated with SGC computers. Sam had crosschecked everything to make sure that it would all work; the last thing they needed was a base-wide malfunction, overload or power failure. Once that was ascertained, Thor had explained in detail exactly how to activate, modify and shut down the Asguard systems from their central system. Furthermore, Sam had discovered it possible to easily upload the new developments into, theoretically, _any_ space vessel, which would prove advantageous in the battle ahead. She hadn't brought up, as by well he knew, that Thor only had six hours left before Thor's genetic disease would take swift effect, and they still had much to cover. In a way, Sam surprised herself that she ever put up the time dilation field on the _Odyssey_ as Teal'c had said, having now completely understood how it worked, she deemed it difficult and dangerous to use.

The Asguard technology was amazing, and as she'd explained to the others at a short briefing, they now had the power to initiate instant teleportation like the Asguards without rings; there were even outlines for telepathy possibility to replace their communication systems. As far as weapons went, Sam was impressed by the range. The most impressive being the Molecular Destabiliser, which did just as the title implied on a massive scale, depending on the target. It had been immediately uploaded to the _Odyssey_ and the _Prometheus_, having already manipulated the basic weapons and shields on board to boost range and power.

"So, you're saying that in all of this incredible technology _and_ your vast knowledge of the galaxy, you can't think of a way to defeat the Ori?" Sam asked, frustrated by the new technology's only fault.

"The Molecular Destabiliser will do much damage to their forces and the automatic self-defense shield will protect it for some time, but the Orici will get past it. Her powers are… strange, and unknown to us. Much like how the Ori have only just been discovered in this galaxy, she is beyond our knowledge." Thor admitted, his ignorance at this threat making Sam nervous.

"You're right," Sam said, thinking aloud. "Before we can defeat the Ori and their many followers, we need to separate Adria from them first."

"You must do more than that," Thor advised. "She must be destroyed."

Inwardly, Sam completely agreed, but her sympathy for Vala's situation kept her silent. "Let's just concentrate on the weapons for now."

"Very well." Thor nodded.

As they worked, Sam became more and more convinced that Thor was right, that Adria had to be killed before the Ori would fall. Sam knew that Vala would accept this if she had to, and may have already done just that, but for anyone to be a part of killing their own child despite what that child had become, Sam understood that it was difficult.

As the final few hours of Thor's life passed by, she realized she was the sole hereditary of all of a powerful civilization's wealth of knowledge, her important role now crucial to live up to the honor of the Asguard's legacy. Thor passed away quickly and peacefully in her arms with Daniel, Vala, Mitchell and General O'Neill respectfully standing by. Although he was just a clone, she felt the loss of her friend Thor and the entirety of his race. Sadly, there was no time to mourn for him, as they had under 12 days before the Ori got to Earth with no surefire way to defeat possibly the worst threat the planet Earth had ever faced.

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**What are your thoughts so far? I want to keep the plot moving quickly so you dont get bored and there are many shipper filled moments heading your way as well :)  
Go on, press the button!!**


	5. A New Hope

"Knock, knock." General O'Neill said as he knocked on Colonel Carter's office door, where he found her sat at her desk, her head collapsed in her hands.

She jerked up, happy to see a friendly face. "Sir, come in."

He sat in the chair opposite, looking at her somewhat dishelved appearance. "Sleep deprivation doesn't agree with you, Carter."

She smiled, realizing what he said was probably true as she noticed her hair had gone off at strange angles. The night of the 9th day to go before the invasion approached, and she had been so focused in her work that she'd barely had ten hours sleep since Thor's death, three days prior. "Sorry sir."

He smiled back at her, equally tired and feeling less than positive about the situation. "With everything going on, I haven't really got to say hi to you."

She smiled appreciatively. "How've you been, sir?"

"Oh, pretty good." Jack nodded. "Not much off-world activity though, tends to make me want to play golf with the other Generals out of boredom." He looked puzzled at his backward logic.

Sam laughed, a few moments of serious silence passed. "Do you think we can survive this one, sir?" Her tone seemed desperate for confirmation from the one man she trusted to have the right answer.

"I wish I could tell you yes," Jack replied slowly. "But this is…"

"Bigger than anything we've come across." Sam nodded knowingly. "And right now, we've got nothing against them."

"We've got the Asguard upgrades, they should…" Jack began.

"They're not enough." Sam confessed, hanging her head. We have nothing." She repeated, feeling completely defeated already.

"Look, Sam," He leant into her and put a supportive hand on her arm. "Teal'c and Mitchell are finding more recruits each day from others willing to help us, and are still off-world at this _very_ moment looking for more. Daniel thinks he's onto something with the tablet, and I know you will do something, which _I_ won't be able to understand," She cracked a smile. "But will save the day once again."

"But that's just it, sir. I don't know what else to do." Sam said, tears forming in her eyes, feeling the pressure compress on her. "If the Asguard couldn't… what chance do I have?"

"Sam." Jack made her look up into his eyes. "I know you will think of something."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Because I know you." Jack said reassuringly. She smiled, drawing strength from his confidence; how she'd missed him. "Come here." He stood and walked round to her side of the table, taking her up in his embrace to support her through this hard time. Her warmth was so familiar to him; he'd missed not seeing her – and the rest of the team – everyday, as she had secretly missed him. He pulled away, holding onto her arms. "Maybe you should get some sleep."

She nodded gratefully and stepped out of his hold, regaining her posture. "Thank you, sir." He smiled. "I'll be in my quarters if anything happens."

"You'll be the first person I call." Jack promised; she nodded and left him in her office to contemplate the hug he initiated, which he technically shouldn't have done, though he realized he wouldn't have stopped himself anyway. The rules of the Air Force had prevented them from being anything more than friends so much so that the odd inappropriate hug was the least they deserved.

Suddenly, though not completely unexpectedly as it had become commonplace over the last few days, a warning blared through the base alerting him to an 'Unscheduled Off-world Activation'. He hurried to the Control Room, and as he entered was informed that the SG1 signal had been received from the other side of the wormhole.

"Open the Iris." O'Neill commanded, as the Iris opened. Stumbling through the Stargate, Teal'c, Colonel Mitchell and Ishta appeared with a mechanical device in Teal'c's hand.

"Hey guys." O'Neill dryly waved. "What's that?"

Moments later, Teal'c Mitchell and O'Neill had assembled in the Briefing Room, Ishta had chosen to return to her home world promptly after arriving, and general O'Neill asked that Daniel be present, Vala inevitably in tow, but he didn't want Sam disturbed.

"What's all this about?" Daniel asked, as they all took their seats around the table.

Teal'c and Mitchell looked to each other. "On searching for allies, we were informed that the Ori were not a new threat here, in fact they were recorded to have come to this galaxy millions of years ago, and did indeed attempt to take over." Teal'c explained.

"Who told you this?" O'Neill asked skeptically.

"The planet's people, called the Kaltec. Mostly farmers and stuff, though some small army resides there." Mitchell answered. "And they are willing to help us by the way."

General O'Neill nodded somewhat pleased and urged Teal'c to continue. "We looked at their records, which proved the Kaltec to be telling the truth."

Colonel Mitchell took some photos out of his vest pocket. "We took these." He passed them to Daniel. "The Kaltec were unable to translate these, we though you could have a go."

Daniel studied them closely, Vala peering over his shoulder. "It's similar to the text on the tablet, maybe a different dialect?"

"It's Algian." Vala blurted out which resulted in everyone staring at her. "I once dated an Algian." She shrugged and winked at General O'Neill.

Daniel squinted his eyes at the writing. "You can read this?"

"Bits and pieces." She admitted.

"From this, I could work out the tablet." Daniel said hopefully. "Vala, would you…" He didn't want to say it, though he knew she was already ahead of him.

"Yes?" Vala wanted to hear him say it, and she knew it would irritate him. "Go on Daniel, I know you can do it."

He rolled his eyes at her patronizing tone, annoyed that she made him say it. "Would you please help me decode this text?"

"Well, of course I will. All you had to do was ask nice." She grinned wickedly; the grin that made Daniel want to hit her over the head, or at least give her into one of the bounty hunters out there surely chasing after her.

"Moving on." O'Neill said, eyes back on Mitchell and Teal'c, though he couldn't help but wonder exactly what the relationship was between those two.

"Right." Mitchell agreed. "So anyway, the leader of the Kaltec, Byr'n, told us that although the Ori had not been defeated before, they did have to go into hiding."

"Hiding?" O'Neill repeated, somewhat surprised. "From what?"

"We are not sure." Teal'c stated. "But Byr'n said that this weapon made the Ori nervous." He glanced to the machine he brought through the gate with him.

"And they just… let you take the only weapon known to be effective against the Ori?" O'Neill shrugged, figuring they'd either been deceived or it was useless anyway.

"Not quite." Mitchell looked to Teal'c again. "It doesn't work… or at least, the Kaltec couldn't make it work. They thought maybe we'd have better luck."

"Oh." O'Neill's smile faded. "Daniel, do you think you could translate those? I mean, might they… help?" He looked to Teal'c for confirmation.

"It is possible." Teal'c nodded.

"Well… yeah, I think with Vala's help it would be possible, but Jack, it may not even relate to the weapon." Daniel reasoned.

"I know." He sighed. "I'll get Carter and the science dorks – guys – on it as well." O'Neill said, fiddling with the device. "Good work guys. This is a positive step forward." He nodded to Teal'c and Colonel Mitchell.

"Damn well hope it works." Mitchell commented.

Jack nodded. "Where are we on recruits?"

"We've had a positive response, it seems the Ori are not as popular as they like to believe." Teal'c reported.

"That's good." Jack said brightly.

"But even _if_ we had enough troops, the Ori have capabilities that we don't have." Mitchell flatly stated.

"That's bad." Jack concluded, his good mood fading fast. He took a deep breath. "I better call the President and apprise him of the situation. Daniel and Vala, get on that translation, Teal'c and Mitchell –"

"Actually, sir, I was hoping that I could check out the _Prometheus_ and the _Odyssey_, make sure they're up to standards." Mitchell requested.

"We have people…" Jack reassured him.

"I know, but I'd feel a lot better if I knew the ships from top to bottom in battle." Mitchell said, his superstitious side coming out. "Call it a pilot's prerogative."

"Fine." Jack approved. "Teal'c continue what you're doing, and take SG-7 with you." Teal'c nodded. "And I'll wake Carter and get her working on this." Everyone nodded. "Dismissed." They all rose and dispersed with their assignments; a new confidence surging inside them.

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	6. Hidden Jealousy

**Thank you for the kind reviews. More please :)**

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"Well, I've contacted the President and General Landry," General O'Neill told Sam Carter and Cam Mitchell on entering her lab, quite surprised to see Mitchell in there. "General Landry felt I could handle the situation here and said he would remain in Washington to protect the President."

"Ok," Sam nodded, having risen instinctively from her chair as her commanding officer entered the room, Mitchell doing the same.

"I thought you were checking on the ships." O'Neill said to Mitchell, an unconscious tone of accusation in his voice.

"Sam wouldn't let me go in them until the uploaded systems completion and maintenance scan has finished." Mitchell shrugged. "Thought I'd stay here 'til it's finished."

"Oh." Jack nodded, not totally sure what the scan had to do with him being here. "How's it going in here?"

"Honestly, sir," She sighed. "I have no idea what I'm looking at. It's not a weapon in the conventional sense as there's no trigger or exit aperture."

Mitchell laughed, "Kinda like planet P3X-459." Sam laughed along with him, O'Neill completely confused.

"What?" He asked, feeling completely out of the loop.

"Sorry sir, long running joke." Sam explained. Jack understood that obviously that joke was a result of a mission without him, and in that moment, he'd never felt so out of place.

"That's great," He skimmed over. "But we do have a pressing matter here, Carter." He almost coldly reminded her.

She nodded, slightly taken aback. "Yes sir, sorry sir." She looked to Mitchell, equally dumbfounded. "Basically, before I open this thing up, I need to know what's in those records. Daniel's translating them now I believe."

"You can't even take a guess at how this works?" O'Neill asked her, all his hopes resting on this device.

"Well, this point here –" Mitchell began.

"I believe I asked Colonel Carter, Colonel." O'Neill said sharply, putting Mitchell in his place.

Without much hesitation, though obviously surprised, Sam replied, "As far as I can tell, and this is just speculation, I'd say this is a pulsar device, which explain why there's a curved surface and no exit space. And I would guess it fires according to a biological effecter."

"That's some detailed guessing." O'Neill said, though expecting no less from her.

"Yes sir, but without Daniel's translation, I have no idea whether I'm right or not." Sam admitted.

"Ok, I'll go talk to Daniel." General O'Neill sighed, feeling more like a messenger than a commander.

"Colonel Mitchell, I'm sure there's something useful you could be doing rather than disturbing Colonel Carter." O'Neill suggested forcefully.

"He's not disturbing me, sir." Sam said sincerely, a little worried about his strange behavior.

"Even so, this is a crucial time, everyone needs to chip in." O'Neill stated before leaving the room.

"Yes sir." Mitchell called after him, and then turned to Sam wide-eyed. "What the hell was that about?"

"I have no idea." Sam shook her head disbelievingly; she'd never known Jack O'Neill to act as he just had. "Wait here."

Compelled by curiosity and concern, she rushed out of the lab after General O'Neill, catching him as he entered his office. "Sir." She closed the door behind her as he turned to face her. "Is everything all right, sir?"

"Fine." He said unconvincingly as he sat down. "Why?"

"You just seemed a little… not yourself, in the lab, sir." Carter informed him, knowing him well enough to know he already knew that.

"Was I?" He exclaimed, feigning a surprised look.

"Sir." She gave him a hard look, and he folded.

He hung his head, sighing, and then returned his gaze to Sam. "I'm just a little frustrated at the moment, Carter."

"That's understandable." Sam sat in the opposite chair. "But you're doing a great job, sir."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache forming. "And must every sentence end with sir?"

"Sorry sir." She lightly joked, receiving a dry 'ha-ha' from General O'Neill.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. "It's just… the world might be destroyed in a number of days, and it quite literally, hangs on our shoulders. To be perfectly honest, this isn't looking good." Sam stayed silent as his head snapped up, seemingly having an epiphany. "Hey, wanna go to Tahiti? Looks nice there. I could fish."

Sam smiled. "I don't think that's the solution to our problems."

"Is to mine." He smiled before sighing again. "I'll go check on Daniel."

They both rose from their chairs. "Sir?" Sam caught his attention. "Go easy on Colonel Mitchell, he's doing a good job."

"Just don't see what he could help with in the lab, is all." He muttered as he left his office, almost so Carter couldn't hear him. Almost. In his voice, she thought she detected the real reason he was sharp with Mitchell, a reason she knew he could never admit to under their long running circumstances: jealousy.


	7. Translations

**Sorry it's been a while, been super busy, but I promise to be faster at uploading new chapters. Thanks for all the support, it's really encouraging xx**

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"This makes so much more sense now." Daniel smiled at his triumph.

"It does?" Vala remained vacant. She'd helped Daniel decode the records that had mentioned the Ori several times and described how they were beaten back millions of years ago, though no definite description of the weapon was recorded. Vala had found some amusement that the 'records' did not 'record' what was needed; Daniel found it less amusing. Anyway, they'd moved onto the tablet, which as it was in a slightly different dialect, had taken longer for Daniel to translate and was only scratching the surface of what the tablet held.

"Yes, the records aren't so much records as they are an indicator, and outline for _this_ dialect," He pointed to the tablet. "In this, it has some subtle accent changes, symbol lines and a few extra letters and phrases. Other than that, the languages are almost identical." He smiled like the nerd he was, though Vala found it cute.

General O'Neill walked in, knocking on his open door. "Hey Daniel, what's… wow." He looked around Daniel's office; all surfaces including the floor were swamped with photos and papers.

"I'm told it's a creative brainstorm." Vala explained to him.

"Well, that's… nice." Jack stepped carefully through the maze of papers. "And it helps?"

"Yep." Daniel answered. "So what's up, Jack?"

"I came to ask you how it was going?" Jack said, finding his balance.

He scoffed. "Jack, it's only been a few hours, I haven't even finished the tablet yet."

"It's been 5 hours." Daniel widened his eyes; he hadn't paid any attention to the time as he was so focused on his work. "So what's in the records?"

"Well that's the interesting part, the –" He began, his excitement evidently not contagious.

"Translated, but not helpful." Vala condensed what she was sure was going to be a lecture into four words.

Jack smiled gratefully. "Thank you." Vala nodded though Daniel was mildly annoyed. "And the tablet?"

"Well, we've got the records, which is actually a similar dialect to the tablet, so I was able to –" Daniel began his explanation though once more cut off by Vala's succinct answer.

"Helpful, but not translated yet." Vala replied, feeling Daniel's hard stare in the back of her head.

"See Daniel, why can't you be more like her?" Jack asked, Daniel tilting his head to the side as if to say, 'you can't be serious'. "Short and simple."

"Is that the way you like you're women? Cos I'm neither, but worth the ride." Vala shamelessly flirted; Daniel turned to her giving her a disbelieving look though really not surprised, Vala just shrugged and winked at him.

Daniel shook his head and faced Jack once more. "Once I've got anything of value, I'll let you know."

"Good." Jack nodded, glancing at Vala uncertainly as he left the room.

"Have you no shame?" Daniel turned to her, already knowing his question to be futile.

"Nope." She smiled childishly. "I'm hungry."

"Go get some food from the Mess Hall then." Daniel suggested, her presence becoming a nuisance. It puzzled Daniel how Vala could be sincere and sweet one moment, and then childish and brazen the next.

"You know, you skipped lunch as well." Vala reminded him, and although this was true, his newfound determination to translate the text overrode any hunger he felt.

"I'm working." Daniel murmured, his eyes unmoved from his paper.

Vala stood still for a moment, watching Daniel. She knew she could be annoying and to every other man a distraction, though Daniel seemed immune to her flirtations. Despite that, Daniel was a sweet, caring, wonderful man who had really taken care of her a lot more than he had to, and because of that she'd found friendship, which she'd never really had before. He'd really been there for her; and she knew he cared for her more than he let on, as much as she did him.

"Tell you what," Vala leant on his desk to be within centimetres of his face. "I'll bring food back here for us to picnic on while you work."

Daniel looked at her, expecting to see her 'enticing' face, and to decline with some clever remark; but instead, she was being genuine and accepted when she pointed out that he needed brain power food. "And thank you," She added. "For the other day. You always come through for me." She kissed him lightly on his cheek before scurrying off to the Mess Hall in search of food.

Daniel watched her go, touching his cheek and smiling, suddenly finding it just a little bit harder to concentrate on his work.jj


	8. Eureka!

**Thanks for being so patient, I promise super quick updates from now on!**

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Several days had passed in the SGC Base and everyone was working hard with only six days to go until the Ori invasion.

Daniel's translations had mentioned the weapon Mitchell and Teal'c found, discovering its name as the 'Bilnakai' weapon, roughly translated to mean 'emitting sonic waves'. It seemed Sam's educated guess about the pulses was correct, although as to how it would be powered up, Sam and Daniel were unsure.

"As far as I can tell, the device has no input, no fuel if you like, for it to fire." Daniel said, frustrated.

"Which is what lead me to believe the trigger was something genetic, which may prove a problem. I didn't want to go into it too deeply, but from what I've seen, I don't think I can short-circuit it." Sam admitted, feeling like they'd come to a dead end.

"So what we have to figure out is _precisely_ what triggers the device." Daniel nodded along, Sam looked at him expectantly and he sighed. "If Vala's right about the race who wrote the records that came along with the device and the tablet, I may be able to figure out how they're biological structure differs from ours." Daniel said, though it was merely an idea, and a long shot at that.

"I'll check the database as to whether we have anything about this species on file." Sam suggested.

"Teal'c assured me that this species evacuated that planet a long time ago and now the rare few that remain have dispersed into the galaxy. We don't have time to look for them." Sam reminded him.

"I know that!" Daniel raised his voice at her, and she recoiled defensively. "Sorry, Sam."

"It's ok, we're all under a lot of pressure." Sam pat him on the shoulder supportively.

"Yeah." He sighed, staring at the device. "Vala dated one of these guys, maybe she can help out."

"She gets around, doesn't she?" Sam scoffed.

"Oh yeah." Daniel agreed, unable to take his eyes off the weapon. He knew the answer was somewhere in front of him, but he just couldn't see it. "Would there be any Algian residue on the device?"

"It's been handled too many times. We took a sample, and looked for prints of some kind, but none showed up, though there were some chemicals imprinted, which was weird. It's not unlikely, though, that the aliens would clean the weapon with these chemicals." Sam answered.

"What kind of chemicals?" Daniel asked, his brow raised.

"Iron, traces of water through no corrosion, and a chemical which has almost exactly the same properties of potassium." Sam replied. "Why?"

"High school chemistry's a long way off, but doesn't potassium and water react to form an explosion?" Daniel asked.

"A very mild one. We thought of that, but Daniel, it wouldn't be anywhere near strong enough to power this thing." Sam answered.

Daniel nodded. "What about the iron? Couldn't that be used as a catalyst?"

Sam smiled, not seeing where Daniel was going with this. "Yes, but Daniel you've got to understand that this device needs millions more watts than given by a simple chemical reaction, it would need an electrical boost, a charge…" She dissolved into thought. "Wait a minute…" She picked up the device and looked at the bottom, pushing a small button like mechanism, a small square slid open.

Daniel looked over her shoulder. "That symbol there," He pointed to the symbol above the button she just pushed. "It means 'power'."

"We had no idea what this was, and frankly, I didn't give it much thought. We attempted booting it up with an electrical charge with no response, it seemed like something was missing." She explained.

"So what if instead of a biological trigger, it was chemical instead?" Daniel asked.

Sam shrugged and smiled. "Only one way to find out."

Within half an hour, Sam had acquired everything she needed to test their theory. The General had been informed, and in a secure, safe environment, O'Neill allowed the test to proceed. Sam and her fellow scientists wore air-tight chemical suits in the event of an accident as Daniel, Jack, Vala, Teal'c and Mitchell watched from the gallery above. It was a long process, but all their hope rested on the power of the weapon if it had, indeed, fought off the Ori before.

"O'Neill," Teal'c leant in, keeping as quiet as possible. "Have you considered where the fight might take place?"

"What do you mean?" O'Neill looked puzzled.

"Surely it would not be suitable for a war to be waged in the outer atmosphere of this planet." Teal'c pointed out.

With everything going on and all the hard work aimed for how to _win_ the war, O'Neill hadn't given any thought as to _where_ it would be held. Teal'c had a point though, all it would take would be an astronomer looking up into the night sky to see spaceships firing at each other; probably wouldn't go down too well with his superiors. "Good point," O'Neill sighed. "Am I right to assume you have a suggestion?"

"Indeed." Teal'c confirmed. "Our allies have pinpointed the direction in which the Ori approach. There is a deserted planet where it seems the Ori have made a base camp, and I am told it is very well guarded, some believe that it holds the key to the Ori's power. Whether this is true or not, I cannot be sure. I believe the Ori will no doubt stop there before heading this way. If we seized it, it could prove advantageous."

"And this information is reliable?" O'Neill stayed skeptical.

"I believe so O'Neill." Teal'c nodded.

Jack gave a short nod, having learnt that Teal'c would rarely trust anyone who didn't deserve it. "Sounds like a plan, Teal'c. If that does pan out, that means we have another surprise for the Ori, which is always a good thing. Is there a Stargate on the planet?"

"I believe so, but it would be heavily guarded. I suggest we go using the _Prometheus_ and the _Odyssey_. Our Allies are capable of getting there themselves." Teal'c answered. General O'Neill nodded in approval. "I shall inform our allies to arrive there an hour before the Ori's estimated arrival of that planet."

"Better make it two." O'Neill tapped him on the shoulder as Teal'c left the gallery to make the arrangements.

Daniel held his papers out in front of him, staring down at Sam in the lab, ready to go. He had found what he thought was gibberish in the records to actually be a frame for loading up the weapon, and so had instructions as to how to proceed. Daniel was to give instructions over the communications system.

"Ok, I'm ready." Sam took a deep breath. Experimenting with alien technology was extremely dangerous, Sam feared any number of results could occur if anything went wrong. However, time was short and they knew at this point, it was worth taking the risk.

"Ok, first, connect the device with the wires." Daniel directed her; she doing what she was told.

"Now, the ratio of water to potassium must be exactly 1:10." Daniel instructed. "Though only a miniscule amount of potassium should be used."

Sam looked up at him. "How miniscule?"

"Sorry Sam, it doesn't give precise measurements. You'll have to rely on your instinct." Daniel smiled apologetically.

"Great." Sam muttered as she did as she was told. She knew the size of the hole in the device and knew the ratio, so she quickly did a sum in her head deducing how much must be used. She sliced off the potassium she needed and added the water, fizzing the device to show the chemical reaction.

"Good! That's good, Sam. Now add the iron and switch the current on at… 20,000 volts." Daniel read his translations aloud.

"20,000?" Sam repeated. "Everyone else out, now!" She ordered her scientists, if this went pear-shaped, this explosion would be fatal.

O'Neill exchanged worried looks with Daniel as he watched Sam below. "You better know what you're doing."

"I am." Daniel said confidently. "Now, Sam."

Sam flicked the switch, and crouched defensively in the corner. There was a deafening bang! And the lights temporarily faded for a few seconds, as in the darkness, the weapon glowed florescent green all over, like veins in the machine. As the lights reestablished themselves, all eyes were glued to the weapon, aglow with power.

"Think it worked?" O'Neill asked dryly.

"I think it's safe to assume it did." Daniel answered, mouth open.

Sam looked up to them from below, smiling her head off. Finally, something was going their way.


	9. Start of Something New

After the experiment had proved a success, they had all – with the exception of Teal'c – assembled in the Briefing Room, Sam pacing the room explaining exactly how the device worked.

"Much like the weapon we used to fend off the Replicators, the weapon emits a sonic pulse which renders the Ori's powers ineffective." Sam said, basically repeating what Daniel had explained earlier.

"It won't kill them?" General O'Neill asked the obvious question.

"At the moment, no, but I've been looking at the Asguard technology, we maybe able to program it to inflict severe damage, if not death." Sam beamed, her scientific know how once again coming through.

"Excellent." O'Neill clapped his hands together, but then looked puzzled. "Wait a minute, do we know how to _fire_ the weapon yet?"

Sam looked to Daniel, who answered, "We think the weapon might have an interface matrix which allows the user to literally 'think' the weapon to fire."

"Cool." General O'Neill simply smiled.

"Evidently these Algians were evolved creatures." Daniel commented, and couldn't help but wonder what an Algian was doing with Vala.

"Sam, although it's great that we've got this working, don't get me wrong, but isn't it a little… small?" Mitchell observed, realizing the whole Ori fleet were heading their way and effectively, they had one gun against their army.

"I've been thinking about it, and we could probably widen the pulses and extend the range, kind of like echoes branch out as they get further along." Sam explained in lamest terms. "And give me some more time and I might be able to figure out a way of sifting the weapon through one of the spaceships to be aimed at the Ori vessels. It should make their ships powerless, shields down and everything, long enough to go aboard and seize the ship or whatever. With the new Asguard systems, it shouldn't be too hard." Sam explained, they all glanced at each other, seemingly approving the plan.

"And the weapon will just stay charged indefinitely?" Mitchell asked skeptically.

"We calculated that it would stay powered up for one week or until a huge blast used up all the reserves. I believe that one huge shot at an Ori ship would do that, so we need to be selective on which ship we hit." Her colleagues frowned. "On the bright side, we know the Ori mother ship to be like a power base. Take one down and we should knock out the individual powers they possess."

"That's good, even the playing field. Take down some of those priors." O'Neill commented.

Until that moment, Vala had kept her eyes down and her lips unmoved. "You're forgetting Adria."

Sam looked at Vala sympathetically, as were her colleagues. "Actually, I haven't." Vala looked up to meet her eyes almost pleadingly. "I'm sorry, Vala, but Adria has to be taken out before we attack the Ori fleet, otherwise we have no chance. I have a bad feeling that she'll be immune to anything we throw at her, including the weapon."

"It's alright, I know what has to be done." She nodded bravely, Daniel rubbing her back supportively.

"But, if she's immune, then how are we going to…" General O'Neill threw an apologetic look Vala's way.

"If we hit the ship Adria's on with the device, it will still take effect so we can get aboard and…" Sam trailed off, though everyone understood her.

"But we've tried to shoot her before, and you've seen how the bullets just… dissolve in front of her. We don't even know if she can be killed at all." Mitchell pointed out.

"We think we know a way to get her to let her guard down." Sam confided.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll take a walk." Vala stood up rapidly. "I think I'd rather not know how you plan to kill her."

"Vala…" Sam began.

"No, I understand it has to be done, really I do." She glanced down at Daniel, who looked concerned for her.

"Actually," Sam felt awful for what she was about to say. "We need your help." She glanced at General O'Neill who had previously approved the plan. "You're the only one who she'll let her guard down for, you –"

"No." Vala shook her head. "I can't be a part of it, it's hard enough…"

"I'm sorry Vala, but you're our only hope. She still looks on you like a mother –" Sam tried, but Vala wouldn't hear of it.

"Because I _am_ her mother!" Vala raised her voice, and then recoiled when she realized that all eyes were on her. "I mean, for all intense of purposes, I am still her mother, and she is still my daughter, no matter what she's done, I still…" She took a deep breath. "I just can't."

"Sam, you must be able to think of something else. What you're asking of Vala, it's not fair." Daniel defended her, keeping his hand on her back.

"I'm sorry Daniel, but we have less than six days before the Ori ships come to kill every single one of us, and we have to be making the hard decisions." General O'Neill rose from his chair to illuminate his authority. "Vala, you will do whatever is necessary."

Vala nodded, keeping her eyes down, unwillingly agreeing for the sake of mankind, then she left the room. Daniel shot Jack a disbelieving look and followed her out.

He followed her along the corridor, grabbing her arm and turning her gently around, where she instantly folded into his embrace. "I'm sorry Vala, I know this isn't fair, if it were my decision…"

"You'd do the same. They're right, we both know it." She smiled bravely though quivered. "I just didn't think as far… I didn't think _I_ would be the one who would kill her." She sniffled.

He stroked her cheek comfortingly. "I know. For what it's worth, I think you're incredible for how you've coped so far."

She smiled at his kind words. "Thanks." She took a deep breath. "Tell General O'Neill I'll do whatever it takes. I think I'll go lie down in my room for a bit."

"You sure?" He rubbed her arms, feeling her goose bumps beneath her shirt. She nodded; her eyes still had the sparkle of life in them, despite the situation. "I'll come and check on you later." He kissed her forehead.

She smiled and they took a moment to take comfort from the others' embrace, just as Vala slowly leant in and brushed her lips softly against his. In her kiss, he felt her vulnerability and depth of her true feelings for him, which told Daniel not to pull away as he had resisted her countless times before; her smile when she _did_ pull away told Daniel that she genuinely cared for him without wanting anything in return.

"You better get back in there." She smiled, cupping his face in her hands.

He nodded and wordlessly returned into the Briefing Room, wondering exactly just what happened between him and Vala. Had he just make a mistake, an error of judgment? Or had he just discovered something that felt more real than anything he had felt in a very long time?


	10. Three Days to Go

The words 'Unscheduled Off-World Activation' had become the most frequent on the base, with Teal'c coming and going as he pleased collecting yet more allies, and confirmed Allied leaders had arranged meetings with General O'Neill to discuss and confirm tactics, trade weaponry and such things.

With three days to go (though technically only two since they'd decided to take the fight to the Ori, as it took just under a day to get to the allocated planet), the base was alive with determination and enthusiasm. General O'Neill had revealed to every soldier working in the SGC base exactly what was happening because, at this point, manpower was more important than morale and now he could give them good news as well as bad, which was a bonus. Nevertheless, everyone pitched in and did their duties, realizing that the fate of the world rested on their shoulders. It was a tall order, but General O'Neill couldn't be more proud as to how they were all handling the situation. The Alpha Site had also been informed of the situation and were ready and willing to help, using whatever technology they had at their disposal. Regular updates had been issued to the President and General Landry, O'Neill had insisted that there was nothing else they could do and just leave it with them. As far as Rebellions went, General O'Neill surmised that this was one that everyone would pay attention to, and hopefully be inspired by.

Colonel Carter's progress was encouraging, having done everything she predicted she could do: she had already hyped up the weapon and adapted it to the Asguard technology all in three days and without much sleep. However, she found it impossible to adapt the weapon to completely destroy the Ori, so it just shut down their systems, which O'Neill was still thankful for.

General O'Neill approached the Hanger Bay military warehouse where the _Prometheus_ and the _Odyssey _were stationed, Carter fiddling with something technical inside the _Odyssey_.

He entered the ship, his heavy footsteps catching her off-guard as evident by her jumping and quickly spinning around. "Sir!"

"Wow, Carter. Stand down." Jack jumped back, jokingly putting his hands up in surrender.

"Sorry, sir." She smiled and relaxed back into her sitting position. "Just a little on edge."

"Sleep deprivation will do that to you." He smiled and she nodded. "So, what are you doing?"

"I uploaded the weapon into this computer's system, allowing us to activate it from the main control panel here." She explained. "Now I'm just double checking."

"Good work." Jack praised her.

"I just hope it helps, and I hope this plan works." Sam told him.

"There's a lot of hope and prayer going around." Jack said, looking over the ship's control room.

"Can't hurt." Sam smiled.

"My thoughts exactly." O'Neill agreed.

A few moments of silence passed. "I can't imagine what this is like for you, sir. I mean, you're in charge of all this, the pressure must be…" Sam commented, glad she wasn't in his place, though she felt the pressure too.

"Yeah, thanks Carter." Hew said sarcastically. "I try not to think about it." Sam nodded understandingly. "Makes it easier though when you've got a brilliant, intelligent team making you look good."

"Just doing my job, sir." Sam deflected his compliment.

"All I know Carter, is that your job requires a hell of a lot more intellect than mine." He half-joked, though Sam knew he was always underestimating himself.

She looked down at her hands and then back up at her senior officer. "It's been good having you with us again, sir."

"It's been good being back, Carter." He replied, seemingly making it personal, and then added, "Despite, you know, the impending end of the world."

She laughed dryly, the truth of his statement depressingly hitting her. "We've been in close scrapes before sir, but this time… I just don't know if we'll make it. The odds aren't in our favor."

"They never are." He smiled reassuringly. "Better get back to work, Carter, you're the best person we've got at the moment and we need you at your very best."

"Of course, sir." Sam nodded, getting back into the console.

"I'm going to talk to Teal'c. As far as I understand it, we've got an army of roughly 8000 now, which is worth squat if they're not organized." O'Neill pointed out.

"Good luck." Sam encouraged him.

"You too." Jack referred to her technical works.

He left Carter and the ship and headed back to the Base. No doubt there was a new crisis that had to be averted, though any time spent with Carter was worth taking the time off; why else was she always the first person he talked to?


	11. The Night Before

**I am SO sorry for the slow updates, it's been a crazy week. We're a few chapters off the end now, stay tuned**!

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"How are you feeling about what Jack asked you to do?" Daniel asked Vala, his strong arms held her tightly as they lay on her bed. Over the last few nights, Daniel had spent his time with Vala after a sudden realisation hit him that these could be the last few nights he'd ever have, and he had to make them count. He realised that Vala meant a whole lot more to him than he knew, and behind her somewhat shallow surface, he'd gotten to know the real Vala, and she turned out to be this brave, beautiful woman who Daniel felt compelled to be near, especially if this was truly the end.

"Numb." She whispered, stroking his arm affectionately. Of all the times she had tried to get Daniel into bed, it had finally happened completely unexpectedly and by accident, differently and much better than she'd ever imagined. Vala felt a closeness she didn't think she could feel without sex, and felt a comfort and security with him that she never knew existed.

"Understandable." Daniel kissed her bare shoulder, though they were both fully clothed; the intimacy was there without needing to be physical. "Do you think you can do it?"

"I don't have a choice, do I Daniel?" Vala snapped. She took a deep breath and swivelled herself around to face him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's ok." He brushed her dark, soft hair out of her face. "I wish I could do something."

She smiled. "You do enough for me." She stroked his smiling face. "Daniel, after all this time, why is it now that…" She averted her eyes, blushing slightly at her awkwardness. "Is it because we're all going to die?"

"No." He laughed at her frankness. "It's because it took me this long to finally see you, see past your… front. Why do you do that anyway?"

She looked away. "I guess I just don't like anyone getting too close." She admitted.

He caressed her cheek. "Well you're out of luck, because I'm not going anywhere."

She smiled and kissed him, he reciprocating passionately at her touch, gently pulling her closer. They broke apart, inhaling heavily. "I can't believe it all starts tomorrow, it all seems to be happening so fast."

"I know." Daniel agreed. "But we've prepared well considering, and I didn't believe this before, but now I think we can win."

She smiled uncertainly, feeling it would be a hollow victory either way it went down. "I wouldn't underestimate the Ori, and with Adria as their leader…"

"They're not invincible." Daniel told her, knowing her fear would tell her otherwise.

"We don't know that." She said exasperated. "And what if the plan fails? Adria doesn't trust me as much as General O'Neill thinks, what if this doesn't work?"

"You're still her mother, Vala, if nothing else, you are her only emotional connection. If anyone can get through to any part of her that's human, it's you." Daniel reassured her.

Vala took a deep breath. "I never thought I'd have to betray my own daughter," She sighed. "I guess it's just not something you think about."

"I'm sorry it's come to this." Daniel said sincerely. "But you do understand the importance of this, right? Your role is crucial. If it doesn't work, we may not be able to defeat the Ori." He gently reminded her.

"I know." She nodded, and swivelled back round to be spooned protectively in his embrace. As Daniel drifted off to sleep, Vala thought about her pivotal role in the battle ahead in deep detail. Tomorrow she was expected to kill her baby. As that thought settled into her head, she whispered, "I know _exactly_ what I have to do."


	12. Morning Reunions

Finally, the day had come. Every soldier on the base equipped themselves with standard issue guns, bulletproof vests and assembled to their assigned positions on board the _Odyssey_ or the _Prometheus_.

Colonel Mitchell was placed commander of the _Prometheus_ with the finest of the SGC behind him. Although the Bilnakay weapon only resided on the _Odyssey_ ship, the _Prometheus_ had the Asguard upgrades, of which Sam had briefed every member of the crew about, instilling Mitchell with confidence.

General O'Neill took command of the _Odyssey_, with Colonel Carter in charge of the weapon and all of its systems; Vala, seemingly nervous and unready for what lay ahead; and Daniel stood strong beside her. A large crew was stationed on each spaceship, though most would be transported to the planet, where Teal'c would lead them and their allies against the Ori base camp. Despite their many soldiers and army, it was unsure exactly how many Ori warriors there were, Teal'c estimated 10,000 to 15,000 against their 9000.

It took several hours for the spaceships to reach the rendezvous point with their allies; Jack was happily surprised that there were more ships than he anticipated. They had arrived reportedly two hours before the Ori were expected to arrive at the planet, the element of surprise hopefully helpful to their cause. O'Neill couldn't help but think that as the last line of defence before Earth, and possibly the last line of defence ever against the Ori, this would be a historic day; possibly the most important battle _ever_ to take place.

Using the new Asguard technology, Teal'c and ready soldiers were transported down to the planet's surface, roughly half a mile away from the Ori base, to meet Ishta, Rya'c and her people, as well as the many other races committed to destroy the Ori threat. The planet, much like Abydos, was covered in sand, though it was not hot, but rather a cool climate. The Allies had already secured a perimeter, and some kept watch for movement at the enemy's base.

Teal'c instinctively walked to Ishta's side, his heart warmed by the sight of his well grown son. "I have missed you, son."

He smiled. "And I, you, father." Rya'c noticed the streaks of grey hair. "You've grown old, father."

"Not in spirit, my son." Teal'c smiled, putting his arm proudly around Rya'c. To Teal'c, it felt 50 years since he saw him last. "Where is Kary'n?"

"She is posted on the look-out." Rya'c answered. "This is an honourable cause, father, we are proud to be a part of it."

"And I am proud to have you here, fighting by my side." Teal'c nodded sincerely, and turned to Ishta. "Both of you."

She smiled warmly. "Come, we must convene with the leaders to confirm our positions. Everyone is anxious enough as it is."

"Indeed." Teal'c observed the warriors surrounding them: no happy faces, none sad, just worried soldiers fiddling with their allocated weapons, exchanging nervous pleasantries. As Ishta and Rya'c lead Teal'c to the other leaders, Teal'c knew that in this battle, many would die, but as his son looked up at him confidently, Teal'c swore to himself that neither Rya'c, Ishta or Kary'n would be among the dead when the day was won.


	13. Zero Hour

On board the _Odyssey_, Jack O'Neill sat in his chair in the Control Room, staring out of the screen ahead; the planet to the side and then the wide, black space, filled with silver stars and other alien vessels seemingly small. He could feel the numbing fear radiating off every soldier on his ship, though everyone remained at their stations, awaiting their orders.

"Carter," O'Neill caught her attention; she sat at the control console to his right. "How do I open a communication channel to everyone on the ships and the planets?" He looked at her blankly. "You said that was possible, right?"

Sam smiled at his ignorance. "Yes, I did." She pushed a few buttons in front of her. "The Asguard technology allows us to be telepathically linked, so we can hear you're thoughts, though you won't be able to hear ours."

"Cool." He thought before he said it, and the soldiers around him laughed.

"Right, well," Jack thought, his speech forming in his head. "I won't tell all of you how proud I am in commanding this vessel of fine crewmen, or the men down on the surface, or any of our allies, because you already know. We are the Resistance, the rebellion that the Ori can never defeat no matter the outcome of this day. Our numbers alone, the friends that we've found," He looked to the alien vessels on the view screen. "The accomplishments we've achieved, and the determination we've found to stand against anything we know to be wrong in the galaxy, make me believe that we _will _win out. The Ori may have advantages we feel powerless against, and numberless followers to whom we feel small, but this _day_ proves that we are _not_ powerless, we are _not_ small. We, my friends," He looked to Sam, who smiled at him, beaming with inspiration from his words. "Colleagues and Allies, are the Ori's worst nightmare. And today, we show them why. The Ori –"

"Are here." Sam interrupted, her façade changing from inspired to worried. She flicked the view screen to reveal one Ori mother ship and ten smaller ships coming out of hyperspace, 6 less ships than they had.

"Crap, I didn't even finish." Jack murmured. "Carter, shields." He addressed everyone as his connection was still in place. "Look alive everyone, they're here." He nodded to Sam to turn off the Asguard device, reverting his thoughts to his private domain.

As they all stared at the mother ship and it's satellite ships, which were already in battle formation, there was a pre-battle silence that filled the atmosphere, humming with anticipation. Almost in slow motion, a blue thunderbolt headed their way from the mother ship, eventually making contact with their hull, shaking the ship and it's crew back into the fast-paced reality.

"Carter?" O'Neill shouted, as more fire rocked the ship.

"Shields are holding." Sam said unsurprised, as she knew the Asguard technology was powerful.

"Can we hit the mother ship yet?" O'Neill yelled.

"No, sir. There are too many smaller ships, they would sacrifice themselves for their Orici." Sam advised.

Vala and Daniel simply watched as the battle commenced on their screen: Allied ships manoeuvred swiftly through space, dipping and diving to avoid the Ori predators. As the alien's ships were unable to handle the Asguard technology upgrades, they were exploding left and right, their fire unable to penetrate the Ori's defence system, and obviously no match for the Ori's superior vessels.

Carter fired continually on the smaller ships, hoping to distract them while the Allies could destroy them, the Molecular Destabiliser proving useful as a first blow for the Allied, more primitive weapons to finish them off. Still, it seemed more Allied ships were going down than Ori, the mother ship continually firing, as did the _Odyssey_ and the _Prometheus_.

**

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On the surface, Teal'c led one of the ten sects to surround the Ori base, Ishta leading Rya'c and her people, the other leaders doing the same with theirs. O'Neill's message, through strangely received, alerted them that the Ori's early arrival prompted their plans to be moved ahead of schedule. Teal'c ordered the plan to commence, everyone instantly scrambling into formation.

Teal'c team faced the Ori's base head-on, while others attacked from the side and from behind. The base took the shape of a large temple, many priors and soldiers surrounding it, and Teal'c suspected there were many more inside.

From far off, Teal'c glinted a mirror in the sunlight signalling the other leaders: as the ships battled just off the planet's atmosphere, the battle on ground was about to commence.

Each sect used their favourite weapons, Teal'c using his traditional Jaffa weapon, and his SGC soldiers using their guns; they fired on the priors and sandbanks, using only the sandbanks as cover.

Having no suspicion of others on the planet, the first line of Ori fell easily and quickly, though once alerted to the invasion, the Ori soldiers quickly took cover and fired upon them instead. Although a few Ori were still taken down, their shields had been activated, and their weapons were evidently more powerful than anything the Rebellion could muster up.

Teal'c shouted as loud as he could, raising his weapon in the sky for all to see, signalling all the sects to attack the base from all sides. Thousands of men swarmed the temple, some getting shot in the fire, most getting down there and tactfully shooting who they could. Still, the Ori's personal force fields protected them from most fire, an advantage the Resistance didn't have. Many brave warriors fell by the second, the Ori's numbers seemingly swelling in size.

Teal'c looked up to the yellow sky for an indication of the happenings of his colleagues, and hoped that O'Neill would succeed in using the Bilnakay to disable the Ori's defences soon.

* * *

"Sir!" Mitchell's voice shouted through their ship from the Prometheus. "It's not looking too good out there!"

"Thanks Mitchell, I can see that." O'Neill replied dryly, though he too could feel pangs of desperation. "Carter?"

She sighed loudly. "Sir, I don't think the blast would reach the mother ship without one of the satellite ships interfering." At that moment, one more of the Allied ships exploded in front of them; the debris scattering across the battlefield with many others.

"Carter, pretty soon we won't have enough ships _left_ to do anything about it once their systems are down!" O'Neill shouted through fire damage, the Asguard shields were weakening by the continuous blasts.

Sam had to agree with his point. "We need to be closer!" O'Neill nodded as she began configuring the weapon ready for firing.

"You heard her." General O'Neill ordered St. Walter Hannigan, who piloted the ship.

As the ship slowly moved towards the mother ship, Vala's stomach twisted as she thought of Adria aboard the ship, and Daniel and her friends aboard this one. She felt like she was the one stuck inside a time dilation field, watching everything and everyone around her move in slow motion as her breath shortened.

"We're in range, sir." Sam reported.

O'Neill nodded. "Do it."

Vala held her breath as she saw Sam push the button that would mean the inevitable end to her daughter; she heard the machine power up and then saw the green pulses head for Adria's ship. After what seemed like forever, the pulses hit the Ori mother ship, visibly shaking it until it froze still, dead in the water so to speak.

O'Neill looked to Carter expectantly. "Shield's off, no sign of weapon's activity." Sam reported, breathing a sigh of relief. They waited a few moments before the Ori ships began to explode at the Allies' fire as quickly as theirs had before. "The smaller ships systems are fading as well."

"Good." O'Neill turned in his chair to face Vala, nodding at her. "It's now or never." Both options had their advantages for Vala, but she nodded nervously.

Daniel turned her to face him, his hands on her arms supportively, knocking her from her bubble of slow motion back into this harsh reality. "You ready?"

She nodded, smiling reassuringly. "As I'll ever be."

Daniel signalled to Sam for Vala's transport: before Vala disappeared in a flash of white light, she quickly pecked him on the cheek and whispered, "Goodbye" to him, her words having such a finality to them that it left him feeling nervous, suddenly wondering how strong a mother's bond to her child could be.

He stared out of the view screen to the mother ship opposite, wishing he'd gone with her, if only to assure himself that she was doing what she was supposed to; his trust of her suddenly turning cold.


	14. Betrayal

In a moment, Vala was taken from Daniel and the Odyssey, and then found herself on another ship: Adria's ship.

The ship was covered in glowing blue veins, she guessed the Ori equivalent to electrical wires, and the walls were a clear white; Vala observed that the ship was surprisingly beautiful for its use being of such a dark purpose.

Vala proceeded down the corridor, having no idea which room Adria could be in, and having no time to find out, Vala allowed herself to be arrested, believing herself to be taken to the great Orici herself, her daughter Adria. General O'Neill's orders pulsated through her head, '_There is no doubt Adria must be killed, she is the power source of the Ori.'_ Her captor's footsteps and her footsteps drummed along the corridor in perfect synchronisation, her heartbeat aligning itself with the tap of their shoes. _'Vala, your roll is pivotal. Without you, we may all die. Do as I've said, no matter how hard it might be. This is the only way to stop her.' _

They finally stopped outside a room, the door swished open, her own thoughts protruding her mind to the other night with Daniel, _'She's my baby, I saw my eyes in hers'_, _'I just never thought _I'd_ have to kill her'. _As her captors pushed her towards Adria, who stared out of the window, Vala realised what she had to do, despite the betrayal it would cause.

Adria turned around, concealing her surprised look from her Ori followers who believed her to be all knowing. "Mother."

In her face, Vala saw so many similarities to her own. "Hello, Adria."

"Leave us." She flicked her hand to her guards, as if they were flies she could wave away. They nodded, like good little soldiers, and immediately obeyed. She turned back to face her mother, "This new device of yours is perplexing." Vala kept silent, Adria's hard stare bearing into her. "Your ship has done much damage. But, no matter, it shall be fixed soon."

"Adria, you must stop this. These people will not give up –"

"Neither will I." Adria said sharply, her eyes narrowing. "I will eventually win out. They are weak."

"You might be able to beat the most of them back, Adria, but these people are driven by righteousness and they will fight you until either you or they are all dead." Vala cried, her voice bleeding with desperation.

"And this is why you've come, mother? To beg for they're lives? To perhaps to warn me?" Adria's voice oozed with a proud superiority over her mother. "I used to wish that you would join me, that I wouldn't have to kill you too."

"Adria, I'm your mother. Despite everything, I am still your only family, and now I've risked everything to protect you." She professed, her heart breaking on the inside. "This new technology, it's powerful, even for you."

"The Ori cannot be defeated." Adria said confidently, her head cocked proudly.

"Adria, the base camp on the planet, yes we know about that, is being attacked as we speak. Whatever is in that temple is about to be seized. If it weren't for me being here, they would have fired on this ship by now." Vala pleaded with her daughter.

"And why _are_ you here?" Adria took a few cautious steps towards her pathetic mother.

"They think I'm here to negotiate your surrender." Vala confessed, and dropped her head. "But I can't do that sweetheart. Despite it all, you're still my daughter and I love you."

Adria recoiled like a snake, swiftly gliding like a goddess to her window where her ships were being destroyed right in front of her, but she was obviously not so affected by it as her mother's profession. "A deception?" She turned to face Vala again, her eyes narrowed as if she could see what was in her mother's head. "Because I love you mother, but you've never joined me before, though I've tried to make you see the Ori way."

"I know." Vala looked at her desperately. "But I've never wanted you dead! And if you resist, or I take you now, I know they'll look at you as too much of a threat. Please Adria, just trust me."

Adria stroked her mother's cheek, studying the water droplet that felt from Vala's eye. "I trust you, mother."

Vala breathed a sigh of relief. "We need to leave."

"No. I must continue forward." Adria pulled away. "I thought you understood."

"I do, Adria, but if we stay here, they will kill you." Vala reasoned, though she knew her daughter was far beyond reasoning with.

"I cannot be killed." Adria stated. "I must protect my people and the temple."

"I know you think that Adria, but we both know that's not true. Is this temple worth your life? What's in it that it could be so important?" Vala asked, confused and compelled by curiosity.

"It is the key." Adria stared out to the planet. "With it, I cannot be stopped, and the Ori will sweep over this universe spreading our word."

"Adria, dear, you're not making any sense." Vala smiled nervously.

"With it, the galaxy, this place, can start again, with the Ori as the true ancestors." Adria foretold, her gaze skimming over the planet below.

"A… weapon?" Vala's voice was caught in her throat. "It's a weapon?"

"A most powerful and beautiful weapon – much more powerful than any of their pithy weapons. It's effect big enough for this galaxy, this universe, to be reborn under Ori protection. Prophecy foretold that I would wield the power of a thousand million suns, and even the stars shall worship me." Adria said proudly, her head held high.

"But, all the people you'd would be killing," Vala sputtered, her palms becoming sweaty. "And Adria, you would be killed as well, have you thought about that?"

"I cannot die." Adria raised her voice. "And I have the power to protect my people, they put their faith in me, the Orici, and I shall not fail them." A tear slipped down Vala's cheek, and Adria turned to face her. "Do not cry, mother." Adria took her into an embrace, Vala's tears pouring freely. Adria's hug was raw, there was no love behind it, and it felt as if Vala was hugging a stick, an inanimate object of which emotion could never be attached.

"I'm so sorry, Adria." Adria pulled away slightly, facing Vala.

"For what, mother?" Her tone so innocent, as if she were still the child she held in her arms so briefly.

Vala pulled her daughter back into her arms, holding her seemingly protectively as she plunged a dagger into Adria's back. 'First, you must find out what's in that temple, then you'll have to kill her.' General O'Neill's orders beat through her mind like a heartbeat. 'I'm sorry, Vala, for asking you to do this, we would never get past her force field.' Adria inhaled sharply as the dagger connected with her ribcage and Vala held her as she sunk to the floor.

As Vala looked to her betrayed daughter, she thought she'd see hurt and confusion at her mother so horribly betraying her trust; instead, she saw rage and hatred scrunched up in her eyes and face. Summoning the last of her strength, Adria twisted the knife and swiftly plunged it into Vala's gut without hesitation, their blood merged as one.

"Now, _mother_," Adria's voice was polluted with bitterness, and pure disgust. "You will always have my blood in yours, as well as on your hands."

Vala grasped her wound, blood spilling onto the floor with Adria's. As Adria collapsed, her eyes remained fixed on Vala as she stopped breathing, and her body slowly transformed into blue goo and evaporated, leaving Vala alone in her daughter's room.

Although her wound was stingingly painful, she knew it was only a matter of moments before the Ori guards would return, what with the connection with their Orici broken. Wiping the last of her tears away, Vala had to convert from mourning mother to the hard hearted space pirate she once was if she were to get back to the _Odyssey_ alive. She dragged herself to the control console and sent a clocked message to the _Odyssey_, awaiting her transport back.

In a flash, she was back on the Odyssey, her friends surrounding her, though not expecting her to be bleeding, Daniel dove on the floor beside her, shouting for medical attention; his worried face looking down at her made her feel so at peace.

"The temple…" She tried, though she found her voice had turned hoarse, her stomach burning.

"Shh." Daniel hushed her, propping her up gently in his arms. "Be still, you'll be fine."

"The temple," She repeated looking at the General who leaned over her and Daniel. "Mass weapon… explosion big enough to… universe…" As Vala fell into a hole of black space, the last thing she thought she heard was Daniel, whispering he loved her.

"Holy crap, a weapon big enough to destroy the universe?" Jack muttered to himself, thinking he must have misunderstood. Then he shook it off, realising it didn't matter, there was a weapon in the temple, and it was up to them to disarm it. "You heard her, people, there's a highly dangerous weapon in that temple." General O'Neill sprang into action, sitting back in his command chair.

The medical personal had arrived, carrying Vala quickly away out of Daniel's arms and out of the way. "Jack," He began, but General O'Neill just raised his hand to quiet him.

"Daniel, she'll be fine, there's nothing we can do for her up here." He pointed out. "Carter, do the mind-reading… thing, again."

"Yes, sir." Carter nodded immediately, pushing the button. She nodded at him, confirming it worked.

"Right, the Orici is dead. All ships to distract Ori vessels; those on the surface, we're sending reinforcements and info. Whatever you do, do _not_, I repeat, do _not_ fire on the temple." O'Neill signalled Carter to cut the feed. He turned to the soldier on his right, "Colonel Johnson, take SG's 7 to 12 down there to help Teal'c." Then he faced Daniel. "Go down there too, figure out _exactly_ what we're dealing with. You may have to translate." Daniel hesitated, and then nodded. Vala was taken care of and there was nothing he could do for her, now he had to focus on his job.

"Sir, shouldn't I go down?" Sam asked, figuring she would be the best person to diffuse a bomb.

"I need you here, Colonel Jones can handle it." General O'Neill said, quavering his lip, which Sam knew meant there was a separate reason, but they didn't have time to go into it now.

"Sir, with all due respect, Jones doesn't have half the experience that I have in alien technology." Sam pointed out, and after a second's consideration, General O'Neill agreed.

"Fine. Brief Teal'c and be as quick as possible. For all we know, it's already been detonated." O'Neill ordered.

Sam stood beside Daniel, and SG's 7 to 12 along with them got transported down to the planet's surface as the spaceship war continued, the Ori's forces weakening.


	15. The Final Threat

**I can't tell you how happy I am that you're enjoying my story, the reviews are fantastic, thank you so much for stickng with the story despite how long it's taken me to post it!**

**This is the penultimate chapter, which means there's only one to go, so please, allow the reviews to pour in. They make me so happy!**

**Feral x**

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They arrived on the planet's surface about twenty meters away from where the battle took place, allowing them to survey the damage before taking cover as the Ori fired, the SG teams surrounding Sam and Daniel protectively.

"We have to find Teal'c!" Sam shouted at Daniel.

"Agreed, but how?" Daniel yelled back, shooting the odd Ori here and there. In all the noise and heavy fighting, both Daniel and Sam knew that contacting Teal'c over their walkie-talkies would be either dangerously distracting or unheard.

"Sergeant," Sam got the attention of the leader of SG8. "Spread out, help the allies."

"But General O'Neill ordered us to protect you." He pointed out.

Daniel shot Sam a look and Sam rolled her eyes, this not being the time. "Forget that, I'm ordering you to help them."

"Yes ma'am." He nodded and then ordered his troops, "Fan out!"

"If I know Teal'c, he'll be heading to the temple." Daniel suggested, watching Sam's back.

"You're right," Sam agreed. "Let's head that way."

Covering each other as Ori and Ally crossfire passed over them, they shot a few Ori as they progressed to the temple, finally seeing Teal'c engage an Ori with his staff, Ishta coming at the Ori soldier from behind.

"Teal'c!" Sam shouted through the fighting, catching his attention in the form of a bemused eyebrow lift, which quickly dissipated once his fist connected with the Ori's face. She and Daniel made their way to him, pushing people out of the way.

"Colonel Carter, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c acknowledged their presence, but kept his eye on the battlefield for any attackers coming their way, though Ishta fought around them.

"We've got to get inside." Daniel pointed to the temple.

Teal'c looked at Ishta apologetically, she just said, "Go, we've got it out here."

Teal'c nodded and she gave him a rough kiss before he left her and went with Daniel and Sam inside the temple. It seemed like a battle had already been waged inside; pillars were fragmented, Ori and Allied bodies alike lined the walls and the smell of blood was enough to make Sam recoil in sickness. Yet it was quiet and still… the echoes of the ongoing war outside bounced off the walls.

"Could not you transport in here?" Teal'c enquired.

"There's an anti penetrating field around this place, the only way to get in is by foot." Sam replied. "I guess they thought there were enough men here so that no intruders would ever be able to get through."

Teal'c nodded, his eyes drifting from one body to the next, hoping there was no one he recognized. "And how goes it above?"

"Adria's dead, and we've gained the advantage. Down here?" Sam reported, no time for details.

"Indeed. The force fields malfunctioned and we began to move more forcefully among the Ori." Teal'c stated.

Daniel didn't have time to mess around as he thought of Vala fighting for her life aboard the _Odyssey_, when she really needed to get back to the SGC. "Teal'c, there's a weapon in here somewhere that could cause catastrophic damage."

Teal'c tilted his head to the side, intrigued. "I do not know where it is."

Daniel looked around in frustration. Three corridors were in front of them. "Let's split up, we'll cover more ground. Use the talkies when someone's found something."

Teal'c and Sam nodded. "Don't worry Daniel, Vala will be ok."

With weapons raised, they all walked down their respective corridors, checking the room that aligned them.

As he carefully continued down the corridor, Daniel came to a turn, quickly ducking his head out to check what was on the other side before proceeding. There was only one door, the four priors standing outside enough to make Daniel believe that something important must be on the other side of the door. Daniel reversed down the previous corridor and called for Teal'c and Sam to back him up. They came immediately and as stealthily as possible.

"How many are there?" Sam asked after he told them his suspicions, they all squat down on the floor.

"Four guarding outside, probably only one or two on the inside." Daniel guessed.

"Probably?" Teal'c repeated, raising his eyebrow.

"Educated guess." Daniel replied, lacking confidence somewhat.

"Ok, we need a distraction." Sam whispered, peering around the corner to see for herself.

"How about this." Daniel stood up and walked in front of the Ori soldiers as plain to see, Sam failing to stop him. "Hey guys." Daniel raised his arms in surrender as the Ori raised their weapons, unaware of Sam and Teal'c presence.

Sam and Teal'c readied their weapons as the Ori walked towards Daniel. As soon as the soldiers came within range, Teal'c and Sam fired, shooting them dead.

Sam stood up facing Daniel, "Daniel! That was impulsive and dangerous. I know you're worried about –"

"Sam, we don't have time for careful and thought-out right now." Daniel retorted, retrieving his weapon. "We've got the most powerful weapon known to this universe to diffuse. Come on."

He led them through the door, once Sam had thrown Teal'c a concerned look over Daniel, with weapons raised. The room was white, purely white; the walls, the floor and the rounded ceiling. On the far side there was a window, outside fighting corrupted the view, as did the Ori prior staring out of it.

"You will not take the weapon." The Ori predicted, slowly turning to face them.

"We'll see about that." Daniel challenged. "Your Orici is dead, and the Ori are fading fast." His voice was filled with bitterness at the price of Adria's death being possibly Vala's.

"The great Orici cannot die." He said defiantly. "She will lead us into glory, she will take us where no race has ever –" Daniel shot him at that point, causing Sam to jump. She'd only ever seen him act this way about Sha're, but it was evident that this was about Vala.

The prior collapsed to the floor, though still conscious, grabbing his staff and touching a button, which made the room light up in blue strands. He smiled as he died, "You cannot stop our will."

Out of the wall, an alter type table was pushed through, a large round object beeping loudly, and light flashing from it.

"Would that be the weapon, Colonel Carter?" Teal'c speculated.

They rushed over it, careful not to touch it. It was covered in gold, indents printed on it which Sam could only assume was writing. Her eyes flickered over it hurriedly. "Daniel?"

"Ok, it says… Ori shall rise…" He skimmed over the unimportant bits. "The great one shall lead us… this weapon, ah ha! This weapon shall pave the way for the Ori's arrival."

"That's great, any mention of how to switch it off?" Sam rushed him, the countdown unknown, but she'd guess they didn't have hours.

"Umm…" He ran his fingers along the text. "Uh oh…"

"Uh oh? What's uh oh?" Sam noted his worried face.

"Only an Ori can power the weapon, 'for the Ori's power alone is worthy of performing the rebirth'." Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Well this isn't good."

"You shouldn't have shot him, he could have helped." Sam pointed out.

"He would never have helped us Sam, you know that." Daniel snapped.

"Daniel Jackson, the Ori, as you have pointed out, have no power, only technology." Teal'c speculated.

"Right, just technology…" Daniel's eyes darted from side to side, turning around in frustration. His eyes landed on the dead prior's staff. "Only technology…" He rushed to the corpse's side and picked up the staff. The beeping of the weapon quickened, the lights flashing a little faster. "Of course! This is the source of an Ori's power."

"Indeed." Teal'c agreed.

Daniel studied all angles of the weapon, the bomb, which could very well destroy everything in their galaxy in moments if it wasn't switched off. "Sam, if you want to shut down this bomb from it's input center, where would that be?"

Sam looked around the back of the weapon and slid underneath to survey the base. "It's here."

"Good. Is there an opening that looks like this staff could fit into it?" Daniel asked her, the beeping becoming almost unnoticeably more frequent.

"Yes, there is!" Sam replied, catching on to what he was thinking. "But there's writing, I don't knew what… Daniel, you'll have to come down here."

Sam wriggled out and Daniel took her place, studying the text. Once he'd recognized it as the same text as on the tablet, he had to smile. "I can read this. Sam, give me the staff." She did as she was told.

In effect, the builders of this machine, though powerful put the directions on for anyone to use. It read: '_To switch off, insert the essence of the Ori and turn the three switches on the right.'_

Above, Teal'c and Sam waited expectantly, Sam becoming more nervous as the beeping accelerated and the lights became erratic. "Daniel…"

"I know." He said. He placed the tip of the staff into the weapon's power core, which sucked the staff dry of its blue power, and then did as the instructions indicated. The almost slurred beeping rushing him on, though the switched were resistant and stiff. Sweat beaded down his forehead, time short, too short… the beeping already sounding like one long beep… the final switch was hard. He twisted it as best he could, almost there… the climax of the beeping about to reach… The switch clicked into its upright position. The beeping stopped; dead silence filled the air.

For a split second, Daniel wondered if he died. He unscrunched his face and let go of the lever, exhaling slowly. He slid out of the weapon's base to see a relieved Sam and Teal'c, as he smiled up at them.


	16. Journey's End in Lovers Meeting

Two days had passed since the Resistance had defeated Adria and the Ori threat, and everything had been cooling down and mellowing out.

Once Adria had been killed and the mother ship – and consequently all the other Ori ships – had their systems collapse, it was only about an hours fighting left both in space and land before a victory was declared, all the Ori gone. It was reasonable to assume that there were more Ori out there; after all, it was doubtful that the fleet the Rebellion encountered that day was Adria's entire force, but with the two main threats eliminated, the war was won enough for the day.

Subsequently, a new pact was formed that day, joining all the Allies who had fought alongside the SGC in defeating the Ori – 12 planets pledging their allegiance to defend their galaxy. It was the diplomatic achievement of the history of the world, though forever kept a secret from Earth's people.

Once Daniel had disarmed the weapon of mass destruction, General O'Neill, although asked to reconsider for study, declared it too dangerous for any species to have possession of, and ordered it to be secretly sent off to be buried on the most remote planet they knew after Colonel Carter declared it impossible to be taken apart. Daniel assured him that without an Ori prior directly linked to the weapon, there was no way for it to be activated again.

Teal'c had decided to take some vacation time with Ishta, Rya'c and Kary'n, which General O'Neill happily approved. As things were settling down after the activity and excitement of the past few weeks, he wished he could grant everyone a short vacation after all their hard work, but with the Stargate always active, he knew anything could happen at any time.

Therefore, instead, General O'Neill held a feast in the Mess Hall as a sort of celebration dinner. He even made a toast, and expressed how proud he was of being in charge of such fine men.

While the party was in full swing, General O'Neill saw Colonel Carter step out of the room and was compelled to follow her out. They walked a far way down the corridor before O'Neill said, "Carter, where you going?"

Sam jumped, not expecting to hear his voice. "Sir! Umm… I think I just need a little fresh air, or at least, as much fresh air as they pump into these rooms." Jack smiled, yet found himself perplexed when he couldn't think of anything to say. Realising that this could turn into a staring contest, Sam spoke, "This was a wonderful idea, sir." She referred to the party.

"Well, you know me, always up for a party." He smiled as she did, though her eyes sparkled with genuine happiness, which he hadn't seen at all since he'd got there. With the threat being over and all, a lot of people had started to relax, which was a nice change of pace.

"I suppose you'll be leaving on General Landry's return." Sam guessed, picking her cuticles behind her back.

"Yep, first thing tomorrow." O'Neill admitted, though he didn't really want to go.

"Sir, while we were in the _Odyssey_, you didn't want me to go down with Daniel…" Sam buried a question in there she knew he'd find.

"I knew he could handle it. And besides, you know more about the new Asguard technology than anyone else, it made sense that you should stay." O'Neill rationalized.

She smiled. "It also made sense that I should go." She realized she didn't need to hear it from him, she knew why he really wanted to keep her on board.

"Yes, well…" He smiled off knowingly.

"Thank you, sir." Sam smiled, nodding her head.

"Please, I didn't really do anything, it's you with your science guys… and stuff." O'Neill smiled his lop-sided grin, his inarticulate side making Sam smile.

"Well, actually, it was more Daniel this time round." Sam said modestly.

The air between them grew silent again. "Do we really have to do this whole rank small talk thing? I mean, I'm leaving tomorrow. It might be nice to have some real conversation before I left." Jack told her, frustrated that once again they were sucked into pretending there was nothing but rank between them. "God knows I'm not gonna get it anywhere else." He muttered to himself.

Sam smiled, somewhat relieved he suggested it first. "Yes, please."

"Good." Jack smiled, and tried as subtly as possible to work in a question he'd been wanting to ask for what seemed to be a _really_ long time. "So Mitchell is working out well as SG1 material."

They began walking side by side down the corridor, which had been almost deserted as the party was in the opposite direction. "Yeah, he's great. He's really taken to it well."

"Right." Jack nodded, not the answer he was hoping for. "Yep, young, agile, good qualities in a leader."

Sam smiled, she caught onto what he was trying to do, but she felt this should last a while. "Oh yeah, in all the training simulations, he beats us all but Teal'c."

"Right," Jack said again, suppressing a sigh. "So he's… I mean you and he are…"

"Really good friends." Sam filled in, and he turned to look at her, stopping their walking.

"Like you and I 'really good friends' or you and Vala 'really good friends'." Jack asked quietly; he knew he was crossing the line in asking Sam such personal questions and he also knew it wasn't his business, but crossing the line hadn't always been a big problem for him, what worried him was what was on the other side of the line.

Sam smiled, she felt really happy knowing he was jealous. "I'm not seeing him." Jack smiled, his embarrassment pretty hard to conceal.

"Well in that case," Jack took a deep breath, checking down the corridor left and right, then left again, he stepped into her and kissed her lightly, brushing his lips on hers.

Sam felt him move away as suddenly as he moved in, leaving her a second to rehabilitate herself. "Where, er, where did that come from?"

"Just a 'thank God we didn't die' kinda thing. And… I missed you." Jack said honestly, unable to stop smiling at her somewhat dazed face.

She smiled, a twinkle in her eye. "I missed you too, sir."

"Hey!" Mitchell suddenly appeared in the corridor, catching them both off-guard and causing them to jump away from each other as subtly as possible. "Where is everyone? You're missing the party."

Mitchell evidently didn't see anything, which both Sam and Jack were delightfully relived by. Sam replied, "Yeah, well, it got a little crowded in there."

Mitchell nodded. "Scary to think the _galaxy_ could have been destroyed."

"No kidding," Sam agreed as they all walked back towards the Mess Hall. "If Teal'c hadn't found out about that planet and the Ori and come here with it…" She shuddered to think.

"Well, it's all over now." O'Neill sighed with relief, picking up a couple of beers for him and Carter. "I called the President who now owes me a 'debt of gratitude'." He mimicked with pride. Colonel Mitchell and Sam laughed. "It's not me though, it was a team effort."

"Man, I'm gonna miss sitting in the captain's chair of the _Prometheus_." Mitchell cheekily smiled. "Felt good."

Sam smiled. "Maybe you could do it again some day."

"Oh, there's no chance of that." O'Neill said dead seriously, forcing the smile from Cam's face. "I put dibs on the _Prometheus_ as a retirement present." Sam cracked a smile again; she missed his wit.

"Yes, sir." Mitchell smiled, tossing back a swig of his beer.

"Well, I better say my goodbyes before I'm off tomorrow." Jack said, putting down his beer bottle to flash a smile at Sam. He looked around the room, smiling faces everywhere, except the one he was looking for. "Where's Daniel?"

* * *

As the party festered in the Mess Hall, echoes of laughing reverberated down the hall and the general relief of their victory showing on every face in the base, Daniel quietly entered the Medical Room where Vala lay asleep in her hospital bed, the monitor beeping consistently.

As Daniel took her hand, upset at the sight of her with wires sticking out everywhere, she slowly fluttered her eyes awake.

"Sorry," He smiled apologetically. "I didn't mean to wake you."

She smiled, happy to see his face. "It's alright." She looked around the darkened room, the yellow fake light from the lamps giving her a slight headache. "Where is everyone?"

"Jack decided to hold a celebration party in the Mess Hall." Daniel answered.

"Really?" Vala asked taken aback, and Daniel nodded. "Booze?"

"Yep." Daniel confirmed.

"Damn, the one time this place is fun and I'm stuck in here." Vala rolled her eyes and Daniel had to laugh. "I'm glad you're here though."

Daniel brushed her hair away from her face. "I would have been here sooner, but the last few days have been crazy with paperwork and alien treaties…" Daniel explained in a haze. He had actually come to see her as soon as they got back, but she looked so weakened and ill, it pained him to see her, so much so that it put him off for a while. He wasn't used to seeing Vala as anything else but strong: strong-minded, strong willed, and at times strongly annoying. It took Daniel a while to realize that she was more human to him than he thought, and she needed him now.

"I understand." She nodded. "Dr. Lam told me you disarmed the weapon."

"Yeah. If you hadn't told us what was in that temple, the entire galaxy might have been destroyed." Daniel explained, stroking her hand.

"Good." Her eyes averted. "Now I know I didn't kill Adria in vain."

"Vala…" Daniel crouched beside her, bringing him down to eye level. "There was no other way this could have gone down."

She nodded. "I know." She brought her eyes round to meet his. "But Daniel, you should have seen the way she looked at me, there was so much hate and anger…" She collapsed into sobs. Daniel gently lay down beside her, holding her in his arms and stroking her hair. Although her jerking motion hurt her sore gut, the stitches of her wound still fresh, Vala couldn't help but let out all the anxiety, sadness and pain out of her system.

"It's alright." Daniel hushed her, holding her tightly.

After several minutes, Vala had no more tears to cry and hre red, puffy eyes could take no more, her tummy sore from muscle contractions. She slowed her breathing and stopped her tears.

"It's ok, I've got you." Daniel reassured her, caressing her cheek.

She sniffled and looked up at him. "Thank you." He kissed her nose and she smiled. Daniel… before, when I was aboard the Odyssey, before I blacked out, I thought I heard you say… that you love me."

Daniel smiled at her, keeping those eternal seconds in anticipation. "I may have said something along those lines."

"Did you mean it? Or was it just because, you know, I was…" She glanced at her wound, then hurriedly added, "Because I understand if it was, I mean I would have probably said the same thing under those circum–"

Daniel cut off her rambling with a kiss, pulling back softly. "I meant it."

She smiled contently and rested her head on his chest. They stayed silent as Vala wondered if she felt the same about him. She'd never been loved before and it felt warming, like a blanket wrapped around her. She thought back to every look that he gave her, every smile he gave her and to every time he touched her… she realized she'd never felt so warm and needed than when she was around him; he brought out the best in her. And now… the fact that Daniel had told her he loved her without asking anything from her in return told her that she could trust him, that she wanted to trust him, made her realize as he held her so protectively in his embrace, that she did love him, very deeply.

"Daniel?" She looked up to him, he looking down in her eyes. "I think I love you too."

He smiled and kissed her forehead, reacting almost as if he already knew; maybe he did, but until that moment she hadn't realized that she'd been blindly in love with him since the day she'd first knocked him unconscious.

**THE END**

* * *

**Well, I hope you have all enjoyed it, I loved writing it. Thank you for the flow of reviews, they rocked.  
****Well, tell me what you thought of the ending.  
****Til next time,  
Feral x**


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